


And The Behavioral Side Effects of Lycanthropy

by SnorkleShit



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Humor, Just Dudes Being Dudes, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Homo, No Smut, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed, Sleeping Together, actual puppy ezekiel, iconic line time: a little cuddling never hurt anybody, jake has a good taste in interior design bad taste in fashion, jazekiel - Freeform, lycanthropy, post-werewolf ezekiel, werewolf!ezekiel, wolf behavior side effects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 02:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8693386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnorkleShit/pseuds/SnorkleShit
Summary: After being cured of temporary lycanthropy, Ezekiel has some lasting behavioral side effects. The compulsion to chase balls, the compulsion to chase cars, being on edge for no reason. Oh, and not being able to sleep alone anymore.But Jake's got a fix for that. In a friend way. Just a bro helping a bro.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fangirlandtheories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlandtheories/gifts).



> For my beautiful sunmee <3

Ezekiel Jones was standing on his doorstep, nervously fiddling with his jacket, unable to look him in the eye. Jake rubbed the sleep from his face and leaned against the door frame, checking the time.

 

“Jesus, Jones, it’s 3 am. Is something wrong at the Library?” Jake whisper-yelled. Ezekiel glanced down the hallway, momentarily glanced at Jake, and then looked down at his feet. 

 

“No. Not that I know of…” Ezekiel replied. Jake narrowed his eyes.

 

“Okay, you’re acting weird, what’s up? Don’t make me stand here all night, man!” Jake said sternly. Ezekiel grimaced, reaching to rub the back of his neck. He seemed to mull over something for a moment, like he was trying to work up the courage to admit something. Then he clenched his hands into fists and shook his head curtly.

 

“Actually, I’m sorry, nothing’s wrong, it’s nothing, I’ll go-” He started to say rapidly, turning to go. Jake rolled his eyes. 

 

“Heel, boy! Don’t make me get the leash!” He joked, before Ezekiel could even get more than a few steps away. Ezekiel turned back to him, shame written across his features.

 

“I can’t sleep.” He finally admitted, shoulder dropping. 

 

“You came all the way over here for that? What do you mean you can’t sleep?” Jake asked, even more confused. Ezekiel let his head fall forward, groaning. He _did_ look pretty exhausted… Ezekiel reached and rubbed his hands over his face - except, instead of using his palms, he used the back of his hands. Just like a dog would use the back of it’s paw. The site was so cute Jake’s annoyance started to fade away.

 

“It’s been a problem ever since the wolf thing, mate! I have all these - I just can’t - it’s driving me crazy, okay? I can’t handle this anymore, I never signed up to get saddled with a bunch of instincts that aren’t mine!” Ezekiel complained, voice desperate. 

 

“Jenkins said there was nothing he could do about the behavioral side effects. At least you aren’t howling at the moon, buddy.” Jake tried to reassure him. Ezekiel huffed.

 

“Don’t I know it. That doesn’t help me now, though, does it, mate? Yeah, i’m not howling at the moon, but every night i’m so lonely I feel like I’m going to _die!_ ” Ezekiel admitted, wrapping his arms around himself and scowling at the wall. Jake’s eyes widened. _Lonely._ Jake had never heard Ezekiel use that word to describe himself before, but it had always been one of the first words that came to mind when Jake thought about the thief. 

 

“You’re lonely? That’s why you can’t sleep?” Jake asked, blinking. Ezekiel looked like he’d tasted something sour.

 

“Pathetic, isn’t it? Completely ridiculous…” Ezekiel muttered angrily. Jake’s face softened.

 

“A lot of people have trouble sleeping. A lot of people are lonely, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Jake tried to suggest. Ezekiel shook his head. 

 

“Ezekiel Jones isn’t supposed to be lonely.” He said.

 

“He also isn’t supposed to refer to himself in the third person. Wolves are pack animals, Ezekiel. It makes sense that the instinct to sleep with the pack is affecting you.” Jake said matter of factly.

 

“How do I make it go away?” Ezekiel asked desperately, stepping towards him. Jake swallowed, and steeled his nerves.

 

“I can think of a pretty easy solution.” Jake said, stepping back a little and gesturing for Ezekiel to come inside. Ezekiel looked into Jake’s apartment, eyes widening in realization. 

 

“You don’t - you don’t have to do that. I wouldn’t ask for that.” Ezekiel stammered. 

 

“Come on, Jones, we aren’t going to fuck. We’re just going to sleep in the same bed. It’s not that big of a deal.” Jake sighed. “Why else would you come all the way over here? You could have just called me if you needed advice.” 

 

Ezekiel swallowed, looking ten shades paler. He hesitantly took the invitation, walking past Jake into his apartment. Jake shut the door behind them, watching as Ezekiel glanced around his living room in interest.

 

“I like what you’ve done with the place. The wood looks good with the red.” He commented.

 

“I’ve always been a sucker for that look. It feels timeless and rustic at the same time, you know?” Jake said, shrugging. Ezekiel offered Jake a small grin.

 

“Just like you, eh?” He asked. Jake smiled in return, but the comment made his heart skip, just the smallest bit. 

 

“Bedroom’s at the end of the hall. Are you hungry?” Jake asked. Ezekiel looked towards the hall in question, feeling overwhelmed by the idea of going back into Jake’s bedroom and actually laying down with him. Not in a weird way. Just in a friend way. That didn’t make the blood in Ezekiel’s ears any less loud. He’d really stepped in it this time, hadn’t he? And yet, no matter how awkward he felt about what was happening, it was nothing compared to the desperation on the inside. The pain underneath his skin finally had a chance to fade. 

 

“No, I had a big dinner. Been really craving venison lately.” Ezekiel replied. 

 

“I’m sure.” 

 

Jake lead Ezekiel back through the hall to his bedroom. Jake’s room was large and spacious, with a king sized bed, and bookshelves on every single wall. And books piled in the corners, and piled on his wooden desk. His computer chair was leather, and cracked around the edges. But it looked pretty comfortable. 

 

“There’s probably something you can wear to bed in the closet, go look.” Jake instructed, as he started to tidy up a little. 

 

“I’m fine.” Ezekiel said quickly.

 

“You’re not sleeping in the same bed with me if you’re going to be sleeping in jeans, dude. Go put on some sweatpants like a big boy.” Jake chided him, turning around and gesturing Ezekiel towards the closet. Ezekiel stuck his tongue out at Jake, and then turned and shuffled in defeat towards the closet. Jake turned back to the garbage can, making sure to clear all the useless scraps of paper from off all of his surfaces. A few moments later, Jake was halted by the sound of rapturous laughter bellowing from the closet.

 

He spun around to see what was so funny, and found Ezekiel doubled over clutching his stomach with one hand and a pair of leather assless chaps in the other. Jake’s face turned red, and he crossed his arms. _Hold your ground, Stone._ He told himself. 

 

“What’s so funny?!” Jake exclaimed indignantly, as if he didn’t know. This only caused Ezekiel to burst into a fit of giggles, leaning against the wall and heaving in breath between his laughs. Jake gave up, sighing and storming over, ripping the chaps out of the thief’s hands. He tossed them in a drawer in his desk and locked it, while Ezekiel continued to laugh the whole time. 

 

“Oh, that’s too good. Holy shit. How often do you wear those?!” Ezekiel exclaimed in mirth, once he had calmed down a little.

 

“Never!” He swore. 

 

“Bullshit! I bet you wear them every week!” Ezekiel said, stabbing his index finger towards Jake’s chest, a giant gleeful grin on his face. Jake scoffed, shaking his head.

 

“Shut the fuck up, Jones, and get in bed with me already!” Jake exclaimed. Ezekiel’s eyes widened a bit, and Jake froze the second it left his mouth. 

 

“I mean, platonically. Just as friends. Just a guy helping another guy out.” Jake scrambled to add, gulping down the taste of panic. He watched as Ezekiel’s face screwed up into wild laughter once more, but the thief put his hand over his mouth to try and hold it in this time. Jake frowned.

 

“What the fuck is it now?!” He exclaimed, throwing his arms out in exasperation. Ezekiel pulled his hand away, letting his laughter bounce out into the room at full volume. 

 

“That’s the gayest thing you could have said!” He nearly screeched between laughs. Jake picked up a pillow off of his bed and threw it as hard as he could at Ezekiel. It nailed him right in the face, cutting off his giggles and making him curse as he stumbled back. Jake grinned in satisfaction, and started to climb under the covers on the side of the bed closest to his desk. Ezekiel could have the window side. 

 

Jake watched Ezekiel regain his balance, and then nervously set the pillow back on the bed before climbing under the blankets on the other side. They laid there for a moment, side by side on their backs with their hands folder on top of the covers. A good few inches of empty air in between them on the bed. But still, already, Ezekiel felt the urge for proximity start to fade. The ache in his soul was fairly soothed by Jake, even with space between them. He already felt more relaxed than he had all month, despite the awkwardness. 

“Are you good?” Jake asked, breaking the silence, reaching over to turn off the lamp while looking at Ezekiel. Ezekiel turned to address him, raising an eyebrow. He knew Jake didn’t mean it that way, but he couldn’t help but prode.

 

“ _Good_ is a strong word.” He said. Jake rolled his eyes, and flicked the light off. 

 

“Whatever makes you feel better about yourself, Jones.” Jake muttered into the darkness as he settled back down. Ezekiel frowned at the ceiling. 

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked.

 

“Go to sleep, Jones, we have work in the morning, and some of us care about being on time.” Jake snapped. Ezekiel silently pantomimed Jake’s grumpy face at him in the dark, like a child, just to make himself feel better. Then he did his best to close his eyes and finally get some sleep. 

 

But it would seem that the forces that be had no such plans for him. Time ticked on - how much, Ezekiel wasn’t sure, but it felt like forever - and he _still_ couldn’t sleep. As soon as the ache had been soothed by Jake’s presence, it had started to resonate through him again, and suddenly all Ezekiel could think about was the space between Jake and himself. That few inches of cold, unforgiving air, was all that was separating Ezekiel from the radiating heat of Jake’s presence. 

 

Jake’s smell filled his nostrils, and made him feel things he didn’t understand. Now, Ezekiel no longer had the sense of smell of a wolf, it wasn’t that. No, he had a normal sense of smell. But now, when he did smell things, the smell of them...made different connections in Ezekiel’s mind, than before. Made him feel different things, things he couldn’t always name. These feelings, urges, instincts...they were all so alien, and yet he knew they were his own. 

 

Jake made him feel things he hadn’t the faintest idea how to name, even before the lycan incident. Jake’s voice, his body, his smell, his anger, his stability. Nowadays, it was like the part of him that secretly longed for others was amplified, it was starting to become uncontrollable. That was an entire other ache, one that had to do with the heart. 

 

Here and now, Ezekiel knew that his confusing more-than-friendship feelings for Jake were irrelevant. Jake didn’t feel that way about him, and even if he wanted to bang, he’d explicitly stated they weren’t going to fuck tonight. And it seemed unwise to go against that at this point. And while that was what Ezekiel _wanted_ to do, it was not what he _needed_. No, he needed something else, something less sexual but still risky. It was the last piece of the puzzle to calm the echo of the wolf in him. And it was going to be horrifically embarrassing. Dear god, have mercy on his soul. 

 

Unsure of what else to do, Ezekiel decided his best route was to slowly try and scoot closer and closer to Jake, hopefully without him noticing. Even the tiniest bit closer would be better. 

 

Little did Ezekiel know, Jake was still completely awake, and could feel every tiny scoot. Jake’s mind momentarily wandered back to high school, and some of the things he could remember about wolves. He knew that they actually didn’t mind sleeping in the open weather, which had surprised him. Another thing he remembered was the pictures of three wolves sleeping, in the textbook of his science class. They had been practically piled on top of each other, peacefully dozing in a tangle of each other’s limbs

 

Wolves where tactile, social creatures. And so where humans. 

 

Ezekiel froze when he felt Jake turned onto his side to face him. Silently, Jake reached out an arm, and wrapped it around Ezekiel’s torso, yanking him closer. Ezekiel gave out a slight yelp of surprise, but he forgot to be embarrassed about it because he was finally wrapped in the warmth of _pack_ \- no, not pack. Family. Packs where for wolves, and Ezekiel Jones was _human_. And he was currently unable to stop himself from nuzzling into the neck and chest of the man holding him, overwhelmed with happiness and warmth at being so close. After a few moments, he came back to himself somewhat, tensing up and curling his head back in towards himself in mortification.

 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, humiliation and self conflict clogging up his brain. 

 

Jake, red in the face but not at all angry, felt his heart twist. He leaned his head down, and let his lips brush just a little bit against the other man’s ear. Ezekiel was frozen, now transfixed on what Jake was doing, body trembling. 

 

“You’re not the only one that’s lonely, Jones. A little cuddling never hurt anybody.” Jake whispered. Ezekiel’s eyes widened, and his body grew calm. After a breath of silence, he pressed further into the space between them, curling into Jake’s side and letting an arm drap over the older man. They settled down like that, wrapped in each other and in blankets, their heartbeats throbbing against each other like a harmony and a melody. Ezekiel finally fell asleep, as peacefully as the day he was born, listening to Jake breath.


End file.
